Marine Bioinformatics: The Key to Unlock Resources of the Ocean

Authors

  • Chithra J S Dept. of Zoology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Keywords:

Biodiversity, Blue economy, Blue biotechnology, Public databases, Bioinformatcis education, Global coordination, Omics

Abstract

Ocean contains the greatest biodiversity on Earth. The incredible variety of marine organisms are used for various applications in blue biotechnology without damaging the ecosystem. But despite its high biological and chemical diversity, the marine environment remains an underexploited resource for discovering novel products. The unique challenges presented by ocean like its vastness, inaccessibility, vagueness in biogeographical borders etc. limits research endeavors, especially identification and documentation of its biodiversity compared to terrestrial regions. Revolution in DNA sequencing technology and ‘omics’ approaches has immensely transformed marine species identification and contributed to flooding of biological data from oceans. This created demand for big data analysis and management leading to the birth of Marine Bioinformatics - the scientific discipline which uses informatics to gather, store, integrate, retrieve, analyze, interpret and disseminate marine biological data. Marine bioinformatics can uplift the knowledge intensive blue biotechnology sector but we need to ensure availability of well curated databases, technological awareness in marine biologists, global coordination and public support for research and education.

Author Biography

  • Chithra J S, Dept. of Zoology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

    Chithra J S is a biotechnologist, presently working on her startup venture, Posei-Derma at Dept. of Zoology, University of Kerala, India. She along with an enthusiastic team of researchers are in the pursuit of extracting bioactive compounds from marine resources to develop Nutra-cosmeceuticals. Chithra received her PhD in Biotechnology from Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Kerala, India and MSc from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. She has been selected for research fellowships by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Dept. of Biotechnology, Govt of India and has articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and books to her credit. Her tenure as senior scientist in Next Big Innovation Labs, Bangalore, India has sparked the drive for innovation and creation of a startup. She can be contacted at jschithra@gmail.com

References

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Vinithkumar, N.V. 2004. Marine Bioinformatics. OSTI Newsletter, Quarterly, Ocean Science and Technology for Islands, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai – 601 302. Vol: 2. Issue 1. Jan. 2004. p. 4.

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Published

2022-02-12

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2022): Marine Bioinformatics

Section

Articles

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